60s MUSICIANS WANTED!

Heard from ex-Monk Geoff Collinge who despite my best efforts to turn him into a bass guitarist is definitely a drummer (see below)

He wants to form a 60s band and here’s his message:

My main thoughts are a three or four-piece, lead & bass plus maybe keyboards, one or all who may sing.

The sort of music I enjoy playing now is pure Rock’n’Pop entertainment, nothing self-indulgent! Anything from the sixties and early seventies that makes people want to get up and dance , from ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ to ‘Respect’,   from ‘Rocking all over the World’ to ‘I Feel Good ‘ and from  ‘Johnny B. Goode’ to  ‘Honky Tonk Women’ ……..and loads in-between !

I live in Southsea and can be contacted on 07971 788230 or via my email address: geoff_collinge@hotmail.com

Thanks also for amending your Blog, just one thing, I’m (Dr) not (BG), Terry is (BG) !!

ROGER FREEMAN

Here are some nice tales from Roger who as you can see was very active locally way back. His brother Phil sang with Soul Society. I shall be adding a couple of Pix to the Flickr site (see below) and thanks Roger:

Just to give you a little history I roadied Soul Society for Just over a year Why ? Because I had a van.

At the same time I worked at the Guildhall as a stagehand running middle spot. On your montage of tickets & posters I see the Duke Ellington stub I shook his hand that day. Didn’t wash my hands for a week.

I also worked with Ernie Sears at the Rendezvous & Zack’s Shack Plus the ill fated venture to Salisbury.

Can’t quite remember how it happened but I roadied Whiskey River for a while.  Why ? Because I had a van.

Believe it or not I am still roadie-ing my daughter & son in law have a band called Jesse’s Girl. When they use all their gear I haul it. Why ? Because I have a truck (SUV ).

I have more stuff floating around the house I kept a lot of my Guildhall posters I’m glad I did.
Thanks for putting a great site together please say hi to Mick Cooper for me.

Sunday Show

We had a delightful hour in the company of Vilma and Anita (the Honeys) and Chris Harvey and Barrie Baron (Live Five etc) hearing stories about the 1950s and mixing with Cliff, Vince Eagar, the Beatles, Adam Faith, Helen Shapiro etc. 50/60 people came – we’re hoping for another good turn-out on 11 April and promise to finish before Pompey’s semi-final!!

PS I’ve been asked what’s being pointed out (comment 2 below). The pic is of the Live Five from Pompey appearing in the film “Expresso Bongo” and I’m pointing to the shirt and guitar (from Chris Harvey, 2nd right) on display at the City Museum right now!

Pompey Pop Pix

I’ve begun to upload the 1950s/60s photographs and copies of groups, venues, tickets etc on a separate Flickr site.

Please go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pompeypoppix/

where you can see the pictures and my descriptions – and add your own thoughts if you wish. I will be particularly pleased if you can add details about the names of the musicians or the locations.

I’m very keen to add this to the various other Pompey Pop projects and have no intention of breaking any copyright. If you believe I have done so, please add a comment and I will sort that out or remove the image (for which reason, for example I have no shots of Simon Dupree & Big Sound since I believe they are copyright).

I hope you enjoy it!

PS – nice comment here (below) and link to sites and scenes from along the coast

The Monk – but Where?

Here is one of the photos provided by Geoff Collinge of the Monk (see below). It’s clearly ‘Op Art’ decoration and Geoff thinks it’s the Brook Club in Southsea (St Paul’s/Kings Road way). Anyone remember it?

Museum Update

I spend Mondays (11-3) at the Museum exhibition, meeting people visiting the show and those who have items to add. Yesterday was especially enjoyable.
Ann Ward whose husband Arthur was a leading drummer in the area for decades with Johnny Lyne and his own bands came down to visit, and another drummer Geoff Collinge came too. He played with the Monk and Zeo Zigg and brought some photographs, including a delightful ‘Op Art’ pic of Monk at what we think was the Brook Club. He brought some press cuttings too including an advert for them supporting Pinkerton’s Assorted Colours at the Savoy.
Also there was Ron Monger who played guitar with the Hi Fi’s around 1957/8 and brought in a delightful photo (see below). They were playing at the transitional period between dance bands and early rock and included a double bass player and (uniquely?) vibraphone played by Dave Mears. They played around the region (and once at the 2is, Soho) – locally including Savoy, Kimbells and Ricky’s.
Most Mondays I’m visited by Express FM’s Robin Kay. He gets a weekly update for his local history show on Express: Sundays / on-line.

NEXT MUSEUM SESSION

Next Sunday 21st March – 2 pm (through the Conan Doyle Room)
I have invited members of the Honeys, Live Five and others to discuss the experiences of appearing on the bill with the Top Stars – such as Cliff, the Beatles, Bobby Vee, Helen Shapiro etc. It’s an informal session with lots of opportunities for discussion and for the audience to share experiences and memories.

British 60s Pop Movie

Showing at the Portsmouth Film Society Omega Street at 2.30 pm on 19 May

“It’s All Over Town”
(UK, 1963)
Director: Douglas Hickox
Starring: Frankie Vaughan,
Lance Percival, Willie
Rushton, Dusty Springfield
55 mins. CERT 12
It’s a helter-skelter musical romp around town with Lance Percival and his friend William Rushton. They call at Covent Garden, with The Springfields and The Hollies… Then to Embankment, where Frankie Vaughan twists among the girls… to the pubs, where Mr. Acker Bilk and his Paramount Jazz Band pound out their best… and all over town – wherever the music is playing! This gem of a film is from a golden era of pop and British cinema.

Further info:

portsmouthfilmsociety.org.uk/program.html

Photos (1)

NEW TEXT – I’ve been asked to name this more clearly (see Comment)

I only know the three guys in the middle (L-R) Billy Storm (Bert Parker), Barry Roberts who became a lynchpin of the local folk scene – a very fine guitarist and Peter Hicks (later of Drifters). Billy and Peter are singing but I don’t know the other three, I don’t think it was an active group

Nice to hear too from John Roberts – there’s an interesting article about the Classics in Whitchurch in a Hampshire magazine (1964)

USING THE SITE

I’ve had a couple of queries about using the site. It’s my first 24 hours of blogging but basically you get my messages in chronological order from the bottom up (OR bottom left – click “older entries”).

Other comments are shown alongside my messages – two comments, three comments etc – just click on them and they open up (and thanks for sending them)

Thanks